SENECA, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Chrissy Shumaker fought away tears as she talked about what her Cranberry softball team has accomplished this season and last.
And the promise of the future.
She would have liked to see that future postponed, at least for a little while, so she and the Berries could further enjoy the present.
But Laurel had other plans.
Cranberry clung to a 1-0 lead heading into the sixth inning, but the Berries couldn’t hold off the Spartans, who scored two in the top of the sixth and two more in the top of the seventh to leave with a 4-1 victory in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs on Monday afternoon.
Cranberry’s season was suddenly over.
“These seniors, they are going to be hard to say goodbye to,” Shumaker said. “Reyna (Watson) and Rylee (Coe) and Denali (Wenner) have been starters since I’ve been here. Rylee’s bat was super hot this year, and it’s gonna be hard to replace. Reyna’s speed and leadership and outfield play and infield play is gonna be hard to replace.”
It’s been a tremendous run over the last two seasons for the Berries, who won back-to-back District 9 Class 2A titles.
Last year, they knocked off Greensburg Central Catholic in the first round of the state playoffs.
Cranberry couldn’t recreate that magic this time around.
Although it looked like freshman Gracee Hess was going to throw another gem after her win in the D9 title game last week.
Hess was in command for the first five innings, but a combination of fatigue under a baking sun and Laurel hitters getting a third crack at her conspired against her.
She went 6 ⅓ innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits. She struck out four and walked two.
Watson had given Cranberry a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI single. It looked as if that might just be enough.
Shumaker, though, knew better.
“Our hitting let us down tonight,” she said. “It doesn’t take away from the fact this team did great things. It doesn’t take away from the fact on another day we could have beat that team. Don’t get me wrong. They are a good team. But the chips didn’t fall our way tonight. I didn’t think that one run was going to be enough to win. And it wasn’t.”
Laurel pitcher Autumn Boyd kept Laurel in the game as the Spartans were looking to find their way at the plate.
Boyd have up just that one run on three hits.
“A big part of it was Autumn gave us a chance to win,” said Laurel coach Frank Duddy. “That’s kind of what we told them in the dugout. She was doing all she can out there. We started to time (Hess) a little bit — it looked like she was getting a little tired and this is a big stage. There’s pressure out there.
“We’ve been there,” Duddy added. “We’ve done that. I’m happy for our girls.”
Laurel finally got to Hess in the sixth inning on a RBI double by Mayci Lang to tie the game at 1-1 and an error that put the Spartans up, 2-1.
Ivy Pancher singled home a run off Watson, who relieved Hess, and another scored on the throw to make it 4-1 in the seventh off Watson, who relieved Hess.
Boyd then worked around a single by Jadyn Shumaker and throwing error to get the win.
“It’s a way different feeling (being up 4-1 instead of 2-1 in the last inning),” Duddy said. “You can take a deep breath. You can relax. You don’t have to worry as much about that runner at second. That was huge. Huge.”
Watson, Jadyn Shumaker and Wenner had the only hits for Cranberry against Boyd, all singles.
Pancher and Lang each had two hits for Laurel. Boyd struck out 10 in the victory.
While Laurel moves on, Duddy sees a team in the Berries that will be around for a long time.
“That’s a young team over there,” he said. “They have nothing to hang their head about. They had a nice season.”
Chrissy Shumaker feels the same.
“The future is still bright for Cranberry softball,” she said.
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